USM's next president?

Preferred candidate would be university's 1st black president

7:45 PM,
Feb. 1, 2013

Rodney Bennett

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Two days of interviews on the University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses are all that separate Rodney Bennett from becoming the first black president in school history.

It's not a fact lost on Southern Miss Interim President Aubrey K. Lucas, whose service to the university dates back to a period when black students were not even admitted to the university.

"It's been 54 years ago since this university denied admission to (the first black applicant) Clyde Kennard," said Lucas, who served as director of admissions from 1957-61. "The difference that we can see in ...